England's Cognitive Dissonance

Britons have finally awakened to the fact that they have a serious problem in their midst.

According to a recent Telegraph YouGov poll, 53% of Britons view Islam as a threat to society. The penny has dropped that there might be some connection between last summer's tube bombings and the recently uncovered plot to blow up ten or more planes mid-Atlantic -- and that connection is the religion of the perpetrators or would-be perpetrators.

The average Englishman, it would seem, has a good deal firmer handle on reality than Deputy Commissioner Paul Stephenson of the Metropolitan Police, who described the bombing plot as a "criminal" act having nothing to do with "communities." The most the politically correct Stephenson would concede was that the plotters are "people who might masquerade in the community, hiding behind certain faiths."

qA young English-born couple who planned to blow up one airliner by igniting their six-month-old baby's bottle of formula are not your run-of-the-mill criminals.

No, they are not hiding behind their faith. It is their burning religious fervor that pushes them to act as they do. A young English-born couple who planned to blow up one airliner by igniting their six-month-old baby's bottle of formula are not your run-of-the-mill criminals. And they are not hiding behind their religion. They are products of their religion, and they share the religious fanaticism of all those suicide bombers in Israel, Iraq, and a dozen other places around the globe.

Yet if the average Englishman has begun to grasp the nature of the problem, he continues to remain clueless as to the solution -- a cluelessness of which he is himself dimly aware and which leaves him both uneasy and dangerously vulnerable to a large number of silly nostrums. The susceptibility to such nostrums to heal the deformities of the Muslim soul constitutes cognitive dissonance on a massive scale.

The silliest of those ideas is that Islamic terrorism is an outgrowth of a long check list of grievances, among them the presence of British troops in Iraq and Tony Blair's alliance with the Great Satan (George Bush) and via Bush with the Little Satan (Israel). The prevalence of that explanation is reflected in Blair's plummeting polls: His personal approval rating has fallen to the around 30%.

The more the pity because Blair has shown a remarkably clear grasp of precisely what is at stake in the world today. In an August 1 speech to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council, he described the battle between Reactionary Islam and the West as a battle over values -- a battle between the democratic values of tolerance, freedom, respect for difference and those of reaction, division, and hatred. The goals of Reactionary Islam are twofold. The first is to prevent any Moslem country from moving towards democracy in any form, and the second is to spread the rule of Islam over the entire globe.

In Iraq, said Blair, prevention of democracy has meant pursuing a strategy of sowing chaos. The purpose of Islamic terrorism in Iraq is "absolutely simple: carnage, causing sectarian hatred, leading to civil war."

The same impulse to chaos lay behind Hizbullah's July 12 kidnapping of two IDF reservists and the firing of missiles at nine Israeli border communities. "The purpose," said the prime minister, "was to create chaos, division and bloodshed, to provoke retaliation by Israel that would lead to Arab and Muslim opinion being inflamed, not against those who started the aggression but against those who responded to it."

In Palestine, Reactionary Islam (and this is equally true of the unlamented Arafat and Hamas today) "seeks not the coming into being of a Palestinian state, but the going out of being of an Israeli state."

In his speech, Blair gave justifiably short shrift to the claim that the West bears the blame for Islamic terrorism. He noted that the West did not attack Islam. The destruction of the Twin Towers preceded the American-Anglo invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Blair derided those who attribute Islamic terrorism to poverty, pointing out that the avatars of Reactionary Islam are hardly promoters of economic development – indeed, just the opposite.

The global reach of Islamic terrorism, extending its tentacles into "virtually every major nation in the world," said Blair, belies any set of negotiable grievances, and demonstrates Reactionary Islam's ambitions to subjugate the globe.

Home Secretary John Reid was even more blunt, in response to an open letter written by the leaders of the British Muslim community – including MKs and Lords -- to Prime Minister Blair, after discovery of the airliner plot, in which they warned of many more such terrorist plots if Britain did not change her foreign policy in Iraq and Lebanon. Reid rejected the suggestion that terrorists should dictate British foreign policy.

He noted that an Al Qaeda plot to blow up major sites in England was discovered in 2000, long before 9/11 or the war in Afghanistan or Iraq, and that jihadi attacks on the United States began with the seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Teheran, more than two decades before 9/11.

But what is truly striking is that Muslim grandees were so open in placing the blame for Islamic terrorism on the West. Those grandees are sufficiently integrated into British society to know that their demands for changes in British foreign policy would have traction in England. And indeed they have.

British Moslems of Pakistani descent plan to blow up passenger jets, and somehow it is the Jews' fault.

After Sabra and Shatilla, Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin remarked, "Goyim kill goyim and the Jews get blamed." We are witnessing something of the same phenomenon vis-a-vis Israel today based on far thinner lines of causality. British Moslems of Pakistani descent plan to blow up passenger jets, and somehow it is the Jews' fault.

A parliamentary inquiry, the Sunday Times reports, has found that "anti-Semitic violence is endemic in England, both on the streets and university campuses." The Community Security Trust reports 92 anti-Semitic incidents in July, three times the normal monthly average. Last week a 12-year-old Jewish girl was stomped unconscious on a London bus while four other passengers and the bus driver did nothing. And an 82-year-old peer, became so incensed during a discussion over Israel's actions in Lebanon that he physically assaulted Lord Janner.

We are a long way past the smart-set talk of Israel's creation having been a lamentable mistake, not worth the price, or even of upper-class twits once again feeling free to say what they really think of Jews. These attitudes have permeated into the British mainstream, which was once known for its stout common sense. The popularity of the London Mayor Ken Livingstone, a long-time Jew baiter, is but one index.

Banners at a London protest of the Stop the War coalition, proudly proclaim, "We are all Hizbullah now." What commonality, one wonders, could left-wing Englishmen feel with fundamentalist Shiites. One fears it is the frisson of identification with the oft-expressed goal of Nasrallah and his Iranian sponsors to wipe Israel off the map. Better that all the Jews gather in Israel, jokes Nasrallah, "it will save us the trouble of going after them on a world wide basis." Who else finds the joke funny?

William Shawcross suggests that Britons have simply become unhinged by the realization that Britain is home today to hundreds of thousands of English-speaking Muslims who despise their native land, and thousands of whom are prepared to take up arms to express that hatred.

In desperation, they grasp at straws and convince themselves that if somehow Israel would just disappear merry olde England would be safe once more. Neville Chamberlain once sold Britons on the idea that offering up Czechoslovakia could secure peace in our time. And today many in Britain view Israel, and perhaps the Jews, as expendable again.

Calling for Israel to be served up on a platter is less frightening than acknowledging the truth: Terrorism is attractive to many Muslims because terrorizing people is the only thing they do well, the only thing that provides them with a sense of power and an escape from their thwarted lives and failed societies.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 26

(26)
pro-Israel Brit,
April 21, 2007 11:39 AM

"The prevalence of that explanation is reflected in Blair's plummeting polls: His personal approval rating has fallen to the around 30%."

I think this has more to do with Blair being in power for a long period, his disdain for public opinion (such as on the EU) and attempts to bring in schemes like ID cards and a National Identity Register database.

(25)
Anonymous,
October 15, 2006 2:44 PM

Perfect commentary

Wow! Not one superfluous word and quite direct. Said it all, honestly and openly.

(24)
AlanBuninMD,
September 15, 2006 6:52 AM

How can we get Islamic culture to change?

Unless we can get Islamic scholars to say that suicide bombers go to Islamic Hell, not Islamic Heaven, we are all doomed. How can we get them to say this?

(23)
Gila,
September 13, 2006 7:48 AM

Response

As a native born English person who has recently made aliyah to Israel, I am concerned that so many extremist Muslim haters of the British way of life and the freedoms so many people take for granted in my home country have been allowed to make their home there. We have been so stupid and blind in our immigration policy and we have been fostering a severe problem which is only likely to become worse.

Not long ago that comment would have labelled me an out and out racist and I would have been considered a terrible person for daring to say such a thing (though of course the issue is not of race but of culture and religious beliefs). Fortunately now many people are waking up though there is still a lot of denial as this article aptly describes, but I fear for the consequences for Britain and indeed for Europe, and most importantly to me now for Israel.

Traditionally, Britain has been a haven for asylum seekers from political or religious persecution for many years, but previously those who came, whatever their original culture, respected the way of life of the majority. In turn the native majority were for the very large part respectful and very tolerant. For instance, a Hindu is free to practise his or her way of life and is not seeking to impose this on others. No problem. But this reciprocal tolerance and good will is not what we are seeing from many Muslims who are also free to practise their religion and live their way of life in Britain. And if we were to visit a Muslim country, how free would we be to practice our own religion there? Stupid question!

Bearing in mind I am speaking in very broad generalities, I would say that British people can be very kind, tolerant and respectful people. But there comes a point when that tolerance can been taken too much for granted. Once that kindness has been abused too much and a British person's anger is roused, then frankly there is no stopping us!

As Jewish people, we need to be far more vociferous and clear in consistently arguing and defending our ancient rights to be in Israel as our Jewish homeland, and to stop fighting amongst ourselves. The extreme Muslims (and sadly the anti-Jewish and also anti-Christian agenda is there in black and white in the Koran and that should be recognised; and woe betide you if you are neither a Muslim, Jew or Christian because you are even more worthless in Muslim eyes according to the Koran) have learned from Hitler that if you're going to tell a lie, tell a big one and keep on telling it and it will be believed. We need to do that with the truth, to be prepared to stand up and be counted and to make sure that we keep on and on repeating it. But we need first to make sure we believe it ourselves.

(22)
johntakach,
September 12, 2006 9:09 AM

Thanks

Thank you for being a voice of reason in a desert of denial.

(21)
Anonymous,
September 11, 2006 3:54 PM

Muslims don't limit their hatred

I heard on the radio today that the Al Qaida Muslims decided early on that only they were true Muslims, and so all others had to die. And they have killed more Muslims than those of other nations. Too bad they don't realize that like inspires like, and if they kill all others who are "not like them" then they paint targets on their own backs. But no where in this particular history exists a Jewish cause! We are just convenient scapegoats. England needs to face its own irrational reaction to terrorism, and not spread blame to Israel, which so far as I can determine, never said, "They aren't like us, off with their heads."

(20)
DickyvanGelderen,
September 11, 2006 11:46 AM

Start with the beginning

Any muslim (dying) to come and live in our western world, then eaten up with envy, struck by daily evidence that their system is not the ideal one, that if the world would all be muslim, poverty and terrorism would still prevail. (Ever see muslems agreeing on anthing?) The USA have more experience with immigrants. You have to take an oath not to do anything against US interests, or be subversive. From then on you can shape your own future; the muslims working and born in the US are the best integrated minority with an average income of 5 above the US average. The 9/eleveners were from outside the US, not like those doing terrible things in Spain, and almost in Germany. All the muslims in their galuth should be made that oath of allegiance, or ship out. (Watch Wafa Sultan on MEMRI; she is an American secular arab woman who delivered a passionate plea against archaic islamism)

(19)
Daniela,
September 11, 2006 11:16 AM

I've been saying this for months...

In terms of Antisemetism and necessity for aliya, England is going to fast become like France, very soon. Israel, get ready and make way for the English !

(18)
MaryJ.Slayton,
September 11, 2006 10:41 AM

Excellent article!

Thank you, Mr. Rosenblum, for a column that should be must-reading for every American! Political correctness will succeed in killing us all!

(17)
RobvanDijk,Amsterdam,Netherlands,
September 11, 2006 6:12 AM

Anonymous wrote on 9/10: "Countries that are homogenous and have one or no religion don't have these problems." and "When was the last time you read of intifadas, race riots etc in Norway and Sweden?" hasn't he heard about the nine(or so) Danish immigrant or immigrant-descendant muslimterrorists that were only recently arrested for plotting attacks in Denmark itself (willing to attack their hospitable, asylum giving 'new homeland', just as the pakistani terrorists in England)? The problem is in the distorted so-called 'faith' of these not in the countries that suffer from these lowlifes!

(16)
V.L.LEVIN,
September 11, 2006 3:37 AM

very good

I wish more people - including gentiles - had accass to your lines. I spend half my time onvincing my friends that the woes of the World are not Israels fault. and I am not an uncritical admirer of the Jewish state

(15)
Max,
September 10, 2006 6:37 PM

this sickness is worldwide and spreading !!!

The facts are,as is well known, that Anti-Semitism and Anti-Israelism is being spread by JEW HATING POPULATIONS and is not being publicised by the Media or the Governments of the free world. WHY IS THIS CONDITION TOLERATED?

(14)
Paul,
September 10, 2006 5:32 PM

Today Jews, tomorrow Christians

Clearly, Islam's goal is first to blame the Jews for Islamic pain and suffering. Once the Jews are out of the way, then next come Christians, then, eventually, when all those who are not in line with Islamic thinking have been eliminated, Islamic reactionaries will not have paradise, they will then turn on each other, for the same reasons they are anti-semitic today. Evil begets evil.

If it weren't for Jewish ethics, the world would truly be plunged into hell on earth.

(13)
RobvanDijk,Amsterdam,Netherlands,
September 10, 2006 4:58 PM

"Neville Chamberlain once sold Britons on the idea that offering up Czechoslovakia could secure peace in our time. And today many in Britain view Israel, and perhaps the Jews, as expendable again. Terrorism is attractive to many Muslims because terrorizing people is the only thing they do well, the only thing that provides them with a sense of power and an escape from their thwarted lives and failed societies."Hear, hear ... true as truth is!

(12)
Sharon,
September 10, 2006 4:05 PM

Message to the Jews of the US and Israel

With respect to Jonathan Rosenblum's article. He failed to mention that we Jews of Great Britain are not afraid to support Israel in these troubled and dangerous times.

(11)
Pam,
September 10, 2006 3:55 PM

How can decent people support fascism?

I often wondered how ordinary people in Germany could support such an evil regime as Hitler's. Surely they realised the fundamental immorality of the ideology. I'm now puzzling the same about those in Britain, who either seem to support Islamofascism, or at least do nothing to actively oppose it.Sadly, I'm no nearer to an answer!

(10)
PerryHardin,
September 10, 2006 3:19 PM

True roots of terrorism

Dear Friends,

I found Rosenblum's article from 10 Sept. well written. I wonder if he could provide me a reference for a book that might speak authoritatively about the true roots of terrorism. I deal in a liberal academic world where Israel and US foreign policy are always blamed regardless of any argument I make to the contrary. I need more ammunition. I would like to have a well documented book that tells the other side of the story from a very factual perspective that would appeal to the academic.

Best regards,Perry Hardin, Ph.D.Brigham Young University

(9)
Anonymous,
September 10, 2006 1:54 PM

What should you do with them

What do you advocate that should be done with these English speaking muslims? Throw them out of England as once was done to the Jews?I am sure Britain would welcome an easy solution from a people that have never managed to find one themselves.Countries that are homogenous and have one or no religion don't have these problems.When was the last time you read of intifadas, race riots etc in Norway and Sweden?

(8)
JohnBland,
September 10, 2006 1:05 PM

The Islamic menace

Hello Even though Im not Jewish, my mother was raised by a Jewish family,in England when she was small..In many ways the recent war In Lebanon though sadly costing many Good IDF soldiers lives , did some good in that it exposed these Islamic thugs, and murderers, posing as religious zealots for what they really are !Israel is worlds last hope in many ways, as it sees them for the monsters they are , as bad maybe even worse than Nazis of ww2 ..Im British by birth, now live in USA,as Golda Meir once said 'if they would deny us a home, then so shall we deny them one ' a truly Great Lady !One Israeli is worth a thousand of them, in any mode one chooses , I'm ready to Fight with Israel any time im Needed , please use my name, any way you need , in this Cause ....Yours sincerely and Shalom ..

John Bland

(7)
Anonymous,
September 10, 2006 12:00 PM

Wake up and smell the coffee!

It must be true that those who do not know history are bound to repeat it. The Brits, as well as Europe and the U.S., have apprently not yet learned the lesson Pope Pius V taught in 1571, when his troops defeated the Muslim invadors at Lepanto and drove them out of Europe, after centuries of occupation. Pius V, alone among the many powerful politicos of the time, understood well that the battle was not just a political struggle, but was, even more, a spiritual struggle. That is still true today. Islam and democracy are incompatible in every way - it's as simple as that. We need to get real here, if we expect to survive, because these people are bound and determined to destroy us any way they can. It's not just about Jews - it's about all non-muslims. The sooner we understand and accept that, the better for us. Or will we insist on hanging ourselves on the gallows of political correctness?

(6)
NormanRoberts,
September 10, 2006 11:44 AM

Is it possible to have Mr Blair's E Mail address? He neede more encouragement. Your analysis is perfect.

(5)
SarahRachel,
September 10, 2006 11:37 AM

Blair Contributed To Islamofacism Spread

I would like to remind the writer of this article that it was the policies of both Blair in England and Bush in the US, that tied Israel's hands in the beginning of the yr. 2000 Intifada when arab suicide bombers were making mincemeat out of innocent Israeli men, women and children on a daily basis. If Blair and the US had not prevented Israel from taking the strongest measures against this Intifada, NONE of it would have spread to the rest of the world, not to England, and not to the US where it is currently being incubated in mosques all over the country. I would also like to remind the writer that religion is only the TOOL being used by the Mullahs for inciting the general arab population into a frenzy. The real motivation is politics and power, and THAT is what is being taught in the mosques in England, Europe, the US, Australia, and everywhere else - not religion. Politics. Take a lesson from Turkey which disallowed politics from being discussed whatsoever inside the mosques - the Islamofacists there had been prevented from getting their political movement off the ground for many years because of this policy. There are only a couple of ways for England and the West to solve the problem of Islamofacists moving in, and that is to either execute them or throw them out, with no Western country welcoming them at all, ever.

(4)
Anonymous,
September 10, 2006 10:20 AM

Excellent article.

How much longer will it take for Western liberals to realize they have been seduced and victimized by Islamic fundamentalists using the same 2,000 year-old anti-Jewish propaganda used so effectively by the Christian churches and by Hitler and the Nazis?

(3)
stpehnhoffman,
September 10, 2006 10:13 AM

the majorty of muslims aren't terrorists.

im sorry but this is islamphobic as a jew i dont know how you can make such sweeping generalisations , i mean sure there are a minority of terrorist muslims ,but the majority are peace loving citizens which im sorry you dont show .

i mean your thinking is similar to the generalisation made about jews which led to the holocaust surely you don't want a similar fate to muslims as what happened to jews in the 1940s

(2)
LeeHiser,
September 10, 2006 10:08 AM

American liberals and media just don't get it!!!!

After reading the article by Mr. Rosenblum, I see some similarities in how the American media and liberal establishment view Muslim fanaticism. I find it apalling that some segments in American society will not take responsiblity for their views and will always blame America and Israel first. It is a pity that very few of my countrymen understand what is occuring in todays world and what the consequences might be if we do not stand up and respond aggressively to Muslim aggression against democratic ideals.

(1)
jeromekernes,
September 10, 2006 9:37 AM

Waking Up to the Reality of Fundalmental Extremism

Fundalmental Extremism is incompatible with our culture. As such, it must be eliminated from our society by whatever means are available, even to the extent that some personal freedoms are curtailed. Should an inhabitant of our country, citizen or not, be permitted to espouse the destruction of our institutions or champion the death of followers of another religion?The answer is an absolute NO. Such advocates of violence must be removed from our society. The ugly word, profiling, has become today's defence against those who would destroy our way of life. We will have to use it as a major weapon in the fight to preserve our future or assure the repeat of 9/11.

I always loved the story of Jonah and the whale. Why do we read it during the afternoon service of Yom Kippur?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Let's recap the story: God tells Jonah to go to Ninveh and to prophesy that in 40 days, God will destroy the city. Instead, Jonah goes to Jaffa, boards a ship, and sails for Tarshish. A great storm arises. Frightened, Jonah goes to sleep in the ship's hold. The sailors somehow recognize that Jonah is responsible for the storm. They throw him overboard, and the sea becomes calm.

A great fish swallows Jonah. Then three days later, God commands the fish to spit Jonah back out upon dry land. God tells Jonah, "Let's try it again. Go to Ninveh and tell them in 40 days I will destroy the city."

The story is a metaphor for our struggle for clarity. Jonah is the soul. The soul is assigned to sanctify the world, and draw it close to God. But we are seduced by the world's beauty. (Jaffa in Hebrew means "beauty.") The ship is the body, the sea is the world, and the storm is life's pains and troubles. God hopes confrontation with mortality will inspire us to examine our lives. But Jonah's is the more common response - we go to sleep (have a beer, turn on the television). The sailors throw Jonah overboard - this is death. The fish that swallows Jonah is the grave. Jonah is spat back upon the land - reincarnation. And the Almighty tells us to try again. "Go sanctify the world and bring it close to God."

Each of us is born with an opportunity and a challenge. We each have unique gifts to offer the world and unique challenges to perfect ourselves. If we leave the task unfinished the first time, we get a second chance. Jonah teaches us that repentance can reverse a harsh decree. If the residents of Ninveh had the ability to correct their mistakes and do teshuva, how much more so do we have the ability to correct our former mistakes and do teshuva.

(source: "The Bible for the Clueless But Curious," by Rabbi Nachum Braverman)

In 1948, Egypt launched a large-scale offensive against the Negev region of Israel. This was part of the War of Independence, an attack by five Arab armies designed to "drive the Jews into the sea." Though the Jews were under-armed, untrained, and few in number, through ingenuity and perseverance they staved off the attacks and secured the borders. Yet the price was high -- Israel lost 6,373 of its people, a full one percent of the Jewish population of Israel at the time.

And what does teshuvah consist of? [Repentance to the degree] that the One Who knows all that is hidden will testify that he will never again repeat this sin(Maimonides, Laws of Teshuvah 2:2).

"How can this be?" ask the commentaries. "Inasmuch as man always has free choice to do good or evil, to sin or not to sin, how can God testify that a person will never repeat a particular sin? Is this not a repudiation of one's free will?"

The answer to this came to me at a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, at which the speaker, a man who had been sober for twenty-one years, said, "The man I was drank. The man I was will drink again. But now I am a different man."

A sin does not occur in a vacuum. A person who is devout does not abruptly decide to eat treifah. A sin occurs when a person is in such a state that a particular act is not anathema to him.

Consequently, repentance is not complete if one merely regrets having done wrong. One must ask, "How did this sin ever come about? In what kind of a state was I that permitted me to commit this sin?"

True repentance thus consists of changing one's character to the point where, as the person is now, one can no longer even consider doing the forbidden act. Of course, the person's character may deteriorate - and if it does, he may sin again.

God does not testify that the person will never repeat the sin, but rather that his degree of repentance and correction of his character defects are such that, as long as he maintains his new status, he will not commit that sin.

Today I shall...

try to understand how I came to do those things that I regret having done, and bring myself to a state where such acts will be alien to me.

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